Northwest Missouri State University head women’s basketball coach Austin Meyer has added a sixth signee for the 2019-2020 recruiting class.

Emma Atwood is a 5’10” guard from Leon, Iowa. As a senior at Central Decatur High School, Atwood averaged 21 points per game, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 60% from the field. She wrapped up her prep career with a record of 99-5 for head coach Curtis Boothe.

In her prep career, Atwood scored 1,434 points. She handed out 270 assists and grabbed 514 rebounds. She also tallied 206 steals and 36 blocks. She was a three-time all-state selection in basketball. Central Decatur reached the state tournament in Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines in each of the last four seasons. Atwood and the Cardinals reached the state semifinals in 2018 (Class 1A) and in 2019 (Class 2A).

Atwood competed in basketball, volleyball, track and softball for the Cardinals. She earned honorable mention all-state honors in volleyball.

She is an honor roll student and four-time academic letter winner. She earned the Presidential academic letter and is a member of the ACE program.

She is the daughter of Manuel and Nicki Atwood.

2019-20 Bearcat Women’s Basketball Signees
Kayla Chapman          5’9″     G         Treynor, Iowa (Treynor HS)
Emma Atwood            5’10”   G         Leon, Iowa (Central Decatur HS)
Jayna Green               6’1″     G/F      Omaha, Nebraska (Millard North HS)
Savannah Guenther   5’11”    G         Grayslake, Illinois (Grayslake North HS)
Chaise Pfanstiel         5’7″      G         Omaha, Nebraska (Millard West HS)
Paityn Rau                  6’2″     F          Waukee, Iowa (Waukee HS)

Northwest Missouri State University senior Joey Witthus has earned first-team all-America honors from the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association.

Witthus (Chanhassen, Minnesota) has already been named a first-team all-America selection by the NABC and Basketball Times. It’s the third straight season that Northwest has had a player earn first-team all-America status from the D2CCA as Justin Pitts tallied first-team status in both 2017 and 2018.

Witthus, the MIAA player of the year and most outstanding player at the MIAA tournament, averaged a team-best 21.1 points per game and shot 50.9 percent from the field. Witthus buried an-MIAA high 114 three-pointers, and he shot 45.2 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Witthus led Northwest in free throws made (170) and he shot 86.3 percent from the free throw line. Witthus earned a spot in the Elite Eight All-Tournament team after helping lead Northwest to the 2019 NCAA Division II national championship.

2019 D2CCA Men’s Basketball All-America Teams

First-Team Name	School	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
Will Vorhees	Notre Dame College	F	6-8	Sr.	Lima, Ohio
Joey Witthus	Northwest Missouri State	G	6-7	Sr.	Chanhassen, Minn.
Shaun Willett	Queens University	F	6-4	Sr.	Palm Bay, Fla.
Amir Hinton	Shaw University	G	6-5	Jr.	Philadelphia, Pa.
Ryan Quaid	West Texas A&M	G	6-6	Sr.	Fort Collins, Colo.
Second-Team Name	School	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
DaultonHommes	Point Loma	G	6-8	Jr.	Lynden, Wash.
Alex White	University of Findlay	F	6-7	Sr.	West Chester, Ohio
Tommy Bolte	Concord University	G	6-1	Sr.	Chillicothe, Ohio
Andrew Sischo	Daemen	C	6-9	So.	Guilderland, N.Y.
Jonathan Lawton	Florida Southern	G	6-2	Sr.	Williamstown, N.J.
Third-Team Name	School	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
Marquill Smith	West Georgia	G	6-4	Sr.	Miami Gardens, Fla.
Cam Martin	Missouri Southern	F/C	6-9	So.	Yukon, Okla.
Gage Davis	St. Cloud State	G	6-4	Sr.	Bolingbrook, Ill.
Ryan Bruggeman	Southwest Minnesota State	G	6-0	Sr.	Pelican Rapids, Minn.
Tim Guers	Saint Anselm	G	6-3	Sr.	Langhorne, Pa.

Honorable Mention: Mark Matthews, Nova Southeastern; Anthony Lee, Kutztown; Adam Eberhard, Bellarmine; Kevin Buckingham, Southeastern Oklahoma State; Alex Stein, Southern Indiana

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University softball team ran its win streak to four in a row with a doubleheader sweep of the Lindenwood Lions on Tuesday.

Northwest scored a walk-off win in game one, 11-10. The Bearcats then posted a 7-1 victory in the nightcap. Northwest is 9-14 overall and 4-6 in MIAA play. Lindwenwood is 17-13 overall and 6-10 in league play.

Game One
Lindenwood started the game strong offensively scoring four runs in the first inning to claim an early 4-0 lead.

The Bearcats answered in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homer from Kaitlyn Weis to cut the lead 4-2.

Grace Ruehle evened the score at 4-4 with a two-run homer that plated Sydne Brashear in the second.

Lindenwood scored a run in the top of the fourth with a sacrifice fly to take a 5-4 lead.

Olivia Daugherty scored when Kaitlyn Weis reached on a fielder’s choice but Lindenwood catcher Becca Stocker’s throw went awry to first base allowing Daugherty to score from second and tie the game at 5-5.

Daughterty looked to put things out of reach in the fifth when she connected on a grand slam to give the Bearcats a 9-5 lead.

However, Lindenwood had its first seven batters reach base in the top of the seventh to rally for a 10-9 lead over Northwest.

But Daugherty came through in the clutch with a two-out, walk-off, two-run homer to right field that gave the Bearcats a dramatic 11-10 victory.

Rachel Smith earned her fourth win of the season.

Game Two
Northwest wasted little time in building a six-run advantage. The Bearcats put up a pair of three-run innings in the first and second.

The reigning MIAA hitter of the week Erin Keeney came through with a two-run single and Kiana Baderdeen hit a sac fly to give Northwest a 3-0 lead in the first.

Keeney laced a three-run double to right center in the second to give starter Regan Thompson a 6-0 lead.

The Lions scored an unearned run in the fifth to break up Thompson’s shutout bid.

Jaedra Moses singled to left field in the bottom of the sixth, bringing in Brashear for the game’s final tally and giving Northwest a 7-1 triumph.

Thompson tossed a three-hit gem with five strikeouts and allowed one unearned run. Thompson moves to 4-6 on the season.

Up next for the Bearcats is a road trip to Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays on Saturday and Sunday.

NOTES: Olivia Daugherty leads the squad with a .436 batting average, four home runs and 21 RBI … Kaitlyn Weis is batting a .420, with eight homers and 26 RBI … Erin Keeney leads the squad with 30 RBI.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Basketball Times has honored Joey Witthus as its NCAA Division II player of the year and head coach Ben McCollum as its NCAA Division II coach of the year.

Witthus (Chanhassen, Minnesota) averaged a team-best 21.1 points per game and shot 50.9 percent from the field. He scored a Northwest single-season record 780 points. He also set the Bearcat single-season mark for three-pointers made (114). Witthus earned MIAA Player of the Year status and was the Most Outstanding Player at the 2019 MIAA Tournament.

McCollum guided Northwest to its second NCAA Division II national title in three years. He led the Bearcats to an NCAA Division II tying mark of 38 victories. Northwest became only the fifth Division II team to complete a perfect season and capture the national championship. Over the past three seasons, McCollum and the Bearcats have posted 100 victories against only five defeats.

NCAA Division II All-Americans
Joey Witthus, Northwest Missouri State – Player of the Year
Ben McCollum, Northwest Missouri State – Coach of the Year

First Team
Jacobo Diaz, Indiana (Pa.)                               6-9       Sr.
Tim Guers, Saint Anselm (N.H.)                      6-3       Sr.
Amir Hinton, Shaw (N.C.)                               6-5       Jr.
Will Vorhees, Notre Dame (O.)                        6-8       Sr.
Joey Witthus, Northwest Missouri State          6-7       Sr.

Second Team
Tommy Bolte, Concord (W. Va.)                     6-1       Sr.
Gage Davis, St. Cloud (Minn.)                         6-4       Sr.
Adam Eberhard, Bellarmine (Ky.)                   6-8       Sr.
Kendale McCullum, Lewis (Ill.)                      6-1       Sr.
Marquill Smith, West Georgia                          6-4       Sr.

Third Team
Dalton Bolon, West Liberty (W. Va.)               6-4       Soph.
Beau Justice, Valdosta State (Ga.)                   6-2       Sr.
Jonathan Lawton, Florida Southern                 6-2       Sr.
Matt Mathews, Nova Southeastern (Fla.)        6-6       Jr.
Ryan Quaid, West Texas A&M                        6-6       Sr.

Northwest Missouri State junior infielder Erin Keeney has been named the MIAA Hitter of the Week for her performance for the Bearcats.

Keeney (Blue Springs, Mo.) batted .615 with three home runs and nine RBI as Northwest went 3-1. Keeney had a hit in four games. Keeney tallied eight hits in 13 at-bats and had a 1.385 slugging percentage.

Keeney began the week by going 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in a 5-3 win over Missouri S&T. Keeney then went 3-for-4 in an extra-inning loss at Missouri S&T.

Keeney went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs scored and a home run in a 15-2 five-inning win over Lincoln.

Keeney blasted a grand slam in a 15-0 five-inning win over Lincoln in the second game of the doubleheader.

— Northwest Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball squad completed a three-game series sweep of the visiting Washburn Ichabods with a pair of victories on Monday at the Bearcat Baseball Field.

Northwest pounded out 17 more hits in the second game of the series and rallied for a 16-11 victory. The Bearcats closed out the three-game set with a 7-5 triumph. Northwest has won six straight games vs. Washburn dating back to the 2018 season.

GAME ONE
Peter Carlson’s fifth-inning grand slam ignited the offense after Washburn starter Jacob Head had allowed only four hits through the first four innings.

Following a nine-run fifth, Washburn retook the lead with a five-spot in the in the top of the sixth to knot the game at 9-9. Washburn added two more in the seventh to take an 11-9 lead.

The Bearcats tallied six run in the bottom half of the seventh to seize control of the contest.

Mondesi Gutierrez posted a four-hit game and Connor Quick notched a three-hit performance.

GAME TWO
Calvin Rudolph took his turn on the grand slam tour with a blast in the fifth to give Northwest a 5-3 lead.

Washburn evened the game at 5-5 in the sixth.

Northwest’s relief corps took over and did not allow a run in the final three innings. Jay Hrdlicka took care of the offense with a one-out, two-run single in the seventh.

Senior Trevor Dudar closed the door in the ninth picking up his team-leading sixth save of the season.

Northwest will be back in action home Friday-Sunday with a three-game set against Fort Hays State. Friday’s game will begin at 3 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.

NOTES: Quick has reached base in 13 straight games – one away from his season-best streak of 14 set earlier in the year … Quick leads the squad with 14 multi-hit contests … Derek Hussey has tallied 13 multi-hit games … Northwest has outscored the opposition in the ninth inning this season, 27-3.

— Northwest Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University softball squad pounded out a pair of five-inning victories over the visiting Lincoln Blue Tigers on Monday.

Northwest tallied 19 hits in the opener in a 15-2 win. The Bearcats added 14 more hits in a 15-0 victory in the nightcap. After playing their first 19 games on the road or neutral fields, Monday marked the home opener for the Bearcats.

Game One
Northwest was the first to score in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer from Grace Ruehle to put the Bearcats up, 2-0.

Lincoln answered in the top of the third with a two-run blast from Camryn Pryor to tie the game, 2-2.

Kaitlyn Weis started heating things up in the third with a homer to left center. Shortly after, Karli Allen hit a three-run homer to center. Olivia Daugherty hit an RBI bringing in Ady Watts to score, pushing the Bearcat lead to 7-2.

Lincoln couldn’t answer as the Bearcats went on to score eight more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Erin Keeney got things rolling with a homer to right field. Sydne Brashear doubled to center field, bringing in Kiana Baderdeen. Allen hit a single to right center, scoring Brashear. Daugherty doubled in Ruehle to keep the Bearcat offense rolling. Keeney doubled to left field, allowing Weis and Jaedra Moses to score. Baderdeen hit for the second time in the inning and tallied an RBI to give Northwest a 15-2 victory.

Northwest starter Rachel Smith picked up the victory and is 2-6 on the year. Smith allowed six hits and two runs, while striking out five.

Game Two
The second game was much of the same story. Northwest got on the board first with Olivia Daugherty scoring first off a single from Jaedra Moses. Kiana Baderdeen singled up the middle bringing in Moses to score. Baderdeen stole second and then advanced to third on an error by the shortstop. Sydne Brashear got an RBI, allowing Baderdeen to score to put the Bearcats up 3-0.

In the second inning, Erin Keeney hit a grand slam to add to the scoring show. Karli Allen got an RBI bringing in Baderdeen to score. Jaclyn Weydert singled and advanced to second on an error by the right fielder, allowing Allen and Brashear to score. Daugherty singled to left field bringing in Weydert and Ruehle to the plate and advancing the Bearcat lead to 12-0.

Allen hit another three-run homer in the bottom of the third to secure the Bearcat win, 15-0.

Northwest pitcher Regan Thompson tossed a three-hit shutout in the five-inning victory. Thompson struck out seven batters and walked none. Thompson moves to 3-5 on the season.

The Bearcats move to 7-14 overall and will be back in action Tuesday in Maryville with another doubleheader against Lindenwood starting at 1 p.m.

NOTES: Olivia Daugherty went 6-of-8 in the doubleheader with two doubles and four RBI … Erin Keeney belted two home runs and tallied seven RBI vs. Lincoln … Karli Allen crushed two home runs and posted eight RBI as she went 4-for-6 in the doubleheader … Sydne Brashear went 5-for-6 with four runs scored … Grace Ruehle went 2-for-4 with two walks and four runs scored … Northwest hit .569 in the doubleheader (33-of-58).

— Northwest Athletics —

KANSAS CITY (April 3, 2019) – For the second time in three seasons, Northwest Missouri State University head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum is the recipient of the NABC Division II Coach of the Year Award presented by Wilson after leading the Bearcats to the 2019 NCAA Division II championship.

Northwest Missouri State topped Point Loma Nazarene University, 64-58, on Saturday in Evansville, Ind., to take the national title and complete a remarkable unbeaten season with a 38-0 record. The Bearcats also won the NCAA championship in 2017 with a 71-61 win over Fairmont State, dropping just one out their 36 games played. Over the past three seasons, McCollum has guided the Bearcats to a remarkable record of 100-5.

A former Bearcat standout as a player, McCollum completed his 10th season as head coach and his teams have an overall record of 241-75 with six Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season championships.

McCollum will receive his award on Sunday, April 7, at the annual AT&T NABC Guardians of the Game awards show in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Auditorium at the Minneapolis Convention Center during the NABC Convention and NCAA Men’s Final Four®.

— Northwest Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team used a 17-hit attack to score a 14-9 win over the Washburn Ichabods at the Bearcat Baseball Field on Sunday afternoon.

All nine batters recorded at least one hit and scored a run as the Bearcats took a lead, saw the Ichabods come back only to have the home squad put it away late with eight runs in its final two at bats.

Washburn took a 2-0 lead in the second but Bearcat starter Max Spitzmiller avoided more damage by cutting down a runner at the plate on a comebacker.

The Bearcat offense started churning in the third. Logan Rycraft started the inning by being hit by a pitch. As the lineup rolled over, Peter Carlson singled to left to put runners on the corners. Calvin Rudolph drew a walk to load the bases. Connor Quick singled to left to clear the bases. The Washburn left fielder charged the ball and had it roll under his glove allowing Rudolph to score from first. Alixon Herrera followed with an RBI single to score Quick and give Northwest a 4-2 lead.

Spitzmiller allowed only one hit in the third, fourth and fifth innings as he put up zeroes on the scoreboard.

Washburn struck for three runs in the sixth to chase Spitzmiller. Spitzmiller went 5 1/3 innings and gave up six hits and five earned runs with one strikeout. Gibson Brown came on in the sixth to extinguish the Ichabods by striking out both batters, but Washburn had taken a 5-4 lead.

Derek Hussey’s one-out single and a walk by Rycraft put two runners on for Rudolph. Rudulph roped a two-out two-RBI double to left giving the Bearcats a 6-5 lead.

Washburn got to Brown in the seventh for four runs, including a three-run bomb to left-center by Michael Oyervides.

But the Bearcats refused to go quietly and rattled the bats again in the seventh for four-spot of their own. Matt Gastner singled to start the rally and Jay Hrdlicka followed with a walk. Mondesi Gutierrez came through with his first home run of the season and fourth homer as a Bearcat. Gutierrez’s three-run bomb tied the game at 9-9. Hussey kept the hits coming with a hotshot to third. Hussey stole second and advanced to third on a single from Rycraft. Carlson then laid down a squeeze bunt that scored Hussey and gave the Bearcats a 10-9 lead.

Aaron Easley worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning with a strikeout for the Bearcats.

Northwest added four insurance runs in the eighth. Quick and Herrera tallied back-to-back doubles to start the eighth. Gastner knocked in Herrera with a single to make to 12-9. Hrdlicka singled to put runners on first and second. Hussey singled up the middle with one out to score Gastner for the third run of the inning. Rycraft ripped an RBI-single to left to complete Hrdlicka’s path around the bases and give Northwest a 14-9 lead.

Trevor Dudar worked the ninth and allowed a hit to go along with a strikeout to finish off the Bearcat victory.

Northwest and Washburn will close the three-game series with a doubleheader Monday beginning at noon.

NOTES: Connor Quick and Derek Hussey notched three hits … Quick has 13 multi-hit games, including a trio of three-hit games … Hussey has 12 multi-hit contests … this was Hussey’s sixth three-hit game … Gutierrez tallied a team-high three RBI … Herrera extended his hitting streak to eight games … eight different starters recorded at least one RBI … Gibson earned the win and moved to 3-1 on the season.

— Northwest Athletics —